Run Away Love
by BrokenMirror97
Summary: Harry is eight years old when he has enough. Running away, the Hogwarts staff doesn't realize he's missing until his letter. Who is going to find and lead the missing boy-who-lived? And, is there more to Dumbledore then meets the eye?
1. Chapter 1

The small boy was running. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew he wasn't going back to where he was.

The mop of black hair was flying around the small face, going across pain filled emerald green eyes. The thread-thin shirt rubbed over the many welts caused by his uncle's belt. Not stopping, the boy was able to make it out of Little Whinging, going to the next town over to get onto the bus with his small amount of money he took from the house.

Sitting on the bench waiting for the bus, the small child wept, wondering why his family couldn't love him. And wondering what he would do once he finally got to London.

An older woman came to also wait for the bus. The boy wiped his tears, looking at the woman.

"Why, what lovely emerald eyes. What are you doing here, child?" The woman looking at him thought the boy shouldn't be here by himself. He didn't look any older then six.

Thinking quickly, the boy answered that he was going back to his mother after visiting his aunt.

"What is your name child?"

Not wanting to remember his short past, the boy answered, "Emrys." And that's how eight year old Harry Potter became Emrys, citizen of London.

Three Years Later...

Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall was doing her favorite part of her job; sending out the Hogwarts letters. This year was especially exciting because Harry Potter was supposed to be coming this year. Thinking back to the joyous fifteen month old she had last seen, McGonagall finally reached his name on the list. She said to the self-addressing quill, "Address Harry Potter." Waiting for the scratching of the quill, she was astonished when the quill froze, then flopped down on the desk in front of her.

"Address Harry Potter." Again, nothing.

With a sinking feeling in her chest, the teacher rushed to the Headmaster's office.

"Albus, something is wrong with Harry Potter's letter," McGonagall exclaimed.

"Oh? What's wrong," Dumbledore asked, eyes twinkling.

"The letter's not addressing itself. It's like he's gone."

Now Dumbledore was panicking. Harry Potter was supposed to be downtrodden from his relatives care so the boy would look up to him. Now, it was obvious something went wrong with his plans.

"You and Severus go and talk to his relatives. I will try a locating charm. We have to find the boy.

Five Hours Later...

Professor Severus Snape was grumbling. Why was he sent to the Golden Boy's home to fetch him? Why not Minerva, or that oaf, Hagrid?

"Come now, Severus. You can use Legilimancy on the boy's relatives to find him," he mocked, imitating the (in his opinion) barmy Headmaster.

Reaching Number Four Privet Drive, the frustrated Potions Professor reached out to manipulate the wards to allow him entrance. Reeling back in shock when he encountered nothing there.

Running (no, not running. Walking fast) up the sidewalk, he rang the doorbell. Waiting impatiently, he tried to think of why the wards would have disappeared.

Hearing loud thuds on the other side of the door, he braced himself for the door to open. When it did, the biggest boy he had ever seen appeared where the door had been.

"Are your parents home? I must speak to them."

The boy blinked before slamming the door and shouting, "Mum! Someone's at the door."

Cringing at the loudness and rudeness, Snape stood there and waited for someone to come. After a few moments, lighter footsteps were heard before the door re-opened.

Even though it had been many years, the two had no problems recognizing each other.

"Snape," Petunia Dursley snarled. "What do you want?"

"I want to see you as much as you do me. Where is your nephew?" Snape sneered.

Looking around and seeing a couple noses pressed against windows from the neighbors, Petunia sighed before beckoning him inside.

Snape did so, raising his eyebrow. This was a situation he was not expecting.

"Dudley, go upstairs, would you? You can play your computer."

"But, daddy..."

"You are no longer grounded. Now go upstairs before I change my mind."

Watching the monstrous eleven year old with disguised disgust, Snape turned to Petunia, eyebrow still raised in question.

"You want to know where the boy is? Well, he's gone."

Snape blinked once in surprise. "Gone?"

"He ran away three years ago. Granted, I don't completely blame the boy..." she trailed off, lost in thought.

"What, did he not get seconds with dessert?" Snape sneered, not looking forward to informing his employer about the loss of his golden boy.

Petunia snarled. "Dessert? He'd be lucky to get his dinner! I may not have liked the brat's mother or his magic, but I wouldn't want a child to be hurting in my home!"

Feeling a sinking sensation in his stomach, Snape was only capable of breathing out, "What?"

Petunia sighed. "I may not have been fond of Lily, but I wasn't going to take it out on a child. Especially since Harry has Lily's eyes, therefore having our father's eyes. I love Dudley, but he looks more like a Dursely then an Evans. Harry grew more to be like Lily in appearance before he disappeared.

"Unfortunately, my husband didn't share this idea. Vernon wanted to 'beat out' the magic." Petunia sighed. "I told him the more he beat Harry, the more magic would come out. When Harry was four, Vernon made his learn how to cook. At five he was mowing the lawn and gardening. Not sure what that had to do with ridding the boy of his magic," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Soon after Harry turned three was when the first magic was shown around Vernon. I had seen it a few times when he was hungry or uncomfortable. Vernon had been thinking Harry didn't have magic until Vernon rose his voice one day when we were arguing and startled Harry, so Harry...silenced my husband until some people came to lift the...charm, was it?

"That was when Harry was moved from 'Dudley's second room' to the cupboard under the stairs. Soon after was when Vernon paid more attention and identified more cases of magic. Each time, Vernon...punished him...when Harry ran away at eight, Vernon was practically straight out beating and starving him. When I tried to stop it, Vernon smacked me. Vernon also threatened to take both boys and rid the world of 'one more freak.'"

Snape was in shock. What happened to the girl whom he and Lily annoyed and annoyed them back, sometimes worse then they had done in the first place. He didn't think Petunia realized there were tears running down her face.

After many moments, Severus grew furious. What right did that bastard have to do what he did? "Do you have any idea where he may be? Or any objects that only belonged to him?"

Petunia smiled grimly. "I have answers to both. In the attic is a box of things of Harry's directly from his mother that he was to receive when he came of age. Some were things from Lily's school days, but there's Harry's baby blanket inside that I kept from Vernon's rage. I'll go get that." Quickly going upstairs and grabbing the box, she came down to find Dudley studying Severus and Severus doing the same to Dudley.

"Anything else? Oh, yes, Harry's location. Well, in the box is his third year school picture that was sent home. You can see how he has Lily's eyes, nose, cheekbones, and mouth. Their dental records even matched. Now, Harry was small for an eight year old, but that's from Lily or Vernon withholding food. When I went to London...oh, maybe a year ago, I would have sworn I saw some kid that looked two years older then when I saw Harry last. I imagine if he lived for two years on the streets all right, he could make it until someone came looking for him. Will you take care of him?"

Severus looked at Petunia carefully, seeing her sadness at not being able to see and raise her nephew properly. "How about I talk to some people who can take care of you husband and find your nephew? And take off the charms on your son?"

"What charms?" Petunia demanded.

"Mummy, who is this? What is he talking about?" Dudley asked, deciding the man was okay to talk around.

"I'll explain later, Duds. This is an old...acquantince," Petunia answered, not wanting to tell the truth about who the man was so Vernon wouldn't know about the Wizarding World getting in contact. "Tell me about them...;ater."

Severus nodded. "I will get back to you. Good bye, 'Tunia."

"Good bye Severus. Good luck."

With that, Severus Snape walked out the door, gaining momentum for his showdown with Dumbledore and the escape he would have to make. Over a child he was prepared to hate.


	2. Chapter 2

Severus was positively fuming by the time he reached the Entrance Hall. Instead of going straight to the Headmaster, he went to the dungeons and packed everything before writing a letter of resignation. Walking to the Headmaster half an hour later, he spoke, "Jellybeans" before going up to see the old man.

Hearing a 'come in,' Severus walked right in and slammed the letter down on the desk.

"What is this?" Albus Dumbledore had been severely hoping that it wasn't what he thought it was.

"My letter of resignation. I resign. On the condition of being lied to and for the belief of you not having a care for the present students or the future students. Especially someone as important to the world as the 'Boy-Who-Lived," Severus snarled.

Dumbledore blinked in shock. "What do you mean? And, you can't resign. The Unbreakable Vow..."

"Only applies to the safety and welfare of Harry Potter. You have shown a lack of care for that child. I love how you have been telling me how spoiled he is," Severus said, saying spoiled sarcastically. "And, how dare you bring the Unbreakable Vow into this! If I stayed here, knowing what you did, I would be dead."

"Dear boy, where have you gotten your information from? It can't be right," Dumbledore asked, wondering who on the street hadn't been silenced from their suspicions. Never crossed his mind that the boy's aunt would have told in her right mind.

"Never mind that. I will be looking for Mr Potter and will teach him myself. He'll be home schooled, away from you and your influence. Merlin only knows how far he got since he found it necessary to run away at eight!"

Now Dumbledore was astonished. "You? Teach? You hate teaching one subject! Not only that, but do you really want him to not be connected to any peers? Emotionally at a lower level?"

Severus sneered. "I doubt the boy is at a low emotional level. And after teaching these brats for the past eleven years, I can confidently say that most five year olds have a higher maturity level. What with their foolish belief that everything is always black and white and not knowing of sacrifice.

"At this moment, I will be talking to McGonagall, doing something that should have been done long ago, and finding the boy who I'm supposed to take care of. Good bye, Albus." And without waiting for an answer or saying another word, Severus left the office and a shell shocked Headmaster.

-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'

Severus stepped outside Minerva's private rooms, contemplating how to tell the strict, but soft teacher what her mentor did to the child of two of her favorite students. Knocking on the door, he waited for less than a minute before the door opened and an anxious teacher was on the other side.

"Well? What happened? Where is he? How is he? Is he..."

"Slow down Minerva. Let's sit down and I'll explain everything I know up to this point about Harry James Potter," Severus said, mentally smirking at the usually unflappable teacher.

Explaining to his ex-coworker and friend what had taken place, both at the Dursley's and with the Headmaster, he was satisfied at the outraged expression that appeared on her face.

"That...that..." Minerva couldn't even find words to finish her sentence.

"Foolish, old, manipulative coot," Severus finished for her, taking a sip of the tea he had.

"YES! I should have checked up on the boy. I knew there was something wrong with that house."

Severus blinked. "You've been to the house?"

"Been there? I was there when Albus left Harry on the doorstep. I had been watching the house all day!" Minerva explained.

"Did Dumbledore talk to them at all?"

"No. Just left Harry there with a note explaining what had happened."

Now Severus was confused. "But, I saw charms on the younger Dursley. The boy. I also think that Petunia had some put on her at some point, but I think she either broke through them or...I don't know, I'm confused and I don't like it."

"Wait, charms? Those people hate magic!" Minerva exclaimed.

"I think we need to go see Aurors. We need to fix what's happening to these people."

"Do you know how to find Harry?"

Severus thought for a moment about the picture in his pocket. "Yes. I think I can find him. Do you remember the spell to manipulate pictures so the person in them will have the present appearance?"

"Why? Do you have...may I?" Minerva asked hesitantly.

Severus took the box out of his pocket and unshrunk it. Opening the box, there was a 3x5 picture of a small boy with a haunted look in his eyes. Looking closely at the picture, Severus commented, "No eight year old should have had such a haunted look in their eyes."

Minerva decided to do the spell. An elven year old with high cheekbones, dark hair, bright eyes, and a mischievous smile appeared. "Holy...this boy looks more like Lily then I thought he would have. He looked so much like James when he was a baby."

"Petunia mentioned when he disappeared he looked greatly like his mother," Severus commented absently.

"I think Albus added a great many charms to the boy's relatives and on the boy himself. Again, we need more information."

"You talk to the Auror's. I'll find the boy."

With a nod, Severus left the rooms to exit the school. Minerva watched Severus walk across the grounds from the window before going to the fire. After all, she had some Auror's to contact that would keep this information to themselves. Moody should work, with maybe Auror Shaklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks just graduated, didn't she? She could probably help Severus find an eleven year old living on the streets.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to update and I haven't responded to any reviews. I tried to update this many weeks ago, but the internet connection was crappy and the page froze every time I tried. I do have the next...many chapters written and should be able to update this story quicker then I have. If you want the full story, wait a few days and I'll tell it.


	3. Chapter 3

Just realized I didn't have any sort of warnings or disclaimer. So, here ya go!

Warnings: Manipulative Dumbledore, Independent Harry, Nice Severus, Dudley, Petunia, and Malfoy's, Implied Child Abus (since, never being in the situation before or knowing someone personally going through it, I wouldn't be able to accurately write it...), Original Characters of Importance (who pop out of plot holes...seriously, I have no idea where one popped up from...), Possible Slash in the Future (and if so, mpreg will probably be used, but it's implied sexual content). If many of you wonderful readers have a problem with slash, tell me and I'll write another version that won't have it in.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, there would be more humor to counterbalance the depressive moments. As is, we must live with deaths of the best characters, child rivals becoming wusses, evil people being hot then deformed, no good Slytherins, Headmaster's with too much power, lazy heroes (come on, CoMC, Divination? How about some interesting classes?), gullible heroes, dumb authority...the list goes on. Give me more and I'll add them :)

Severus walked out of the wards. Well, tried. He wound up running most of the way since Albus tried to talk to him. Quickly, he apparated to Diagon's apparation point.

He was going to first find a house to in so he would have a place to sleep in-between finding the boy. Severus was not looking forward to searching for a boy who had been hiding on the streets for three years.

-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-

Minerva finally got in contact with Alastor Moody, the man in charge of the Aurors.

"Alastor, we have a problem. Can you meet me at the Three Broomsticks while I tell you about a...scarred boy?"

Alastor stared at her, magical eye piercing her as if judging her. "Will Albus be there?"

Minerva frowned, very unhappy with her employer. "No, the meddling old man will not be there. He's the reason we have this problem."

Alastor looked at the teacher, shock slightly apparent in his eye. "Fine. I'll meet you there in an hour. I want to know what mistake the old fool made."

"Thank you." Minerva cut off the Floo connection and got the things she would need for her meeting. As she was leaving the room, the floo flared up.

"Minerva, are you there?"

"Albus, I'm just leaving. I have a meeting in about fifteen minutes. What can I help you with?"

"Severus has...quit his job. Do you know where he could be or where I can find someone to teach Potions?"

"Nope. No idea where Severus could be. If he quit, you should just leave him be. After a hard life like his, that's the least he deserves. What are you doing about Harry's disappearance?" Minerva asked curiously.

"There's nothing I can do. My locator charms don't work and Mr and Mrs Dursley hare all things magical, so they wouldn't have kept Harry or Lily's things. We'll have to keep an eye out whenever we go out to muggle England."

Minerva inwardly rolled her eyes, though kept a mental not that Albus was so sure of Petunia's hatred even though he had never met the woman. "Well, I need to run. I'll talk to you after my outing." Without another word, she left her employer floating in the fireplace.

Inwardly fuming about the entire situation, Minerva transformed into her cat form and ran the entire way to Hogsmeade. On the outside of the Three Broomsticks, she transformed back and entered the restaurant. Sitting at the table in the back was Alastor.

"All right Minerva," he started when she sat. "What foolish things has Albus done now?"

"Many things. Of course, you know the story of Harry Potter?" It was asked as a question, but Minerva knew the answer. Who didn't know the story of Harry Potter in the Wizarding World?

"I know the story. Checked on the lad. Got on well with the Aunt, but I never saw an interaction with the Uncle. Albus said not to worry once Potter reached five as he would be making trips to the house. Excited to have both boys coming to Hogwarts?"

Now Minerva was surprised. "Both?"

"Yeah. Saw the young Dursley do some magic. Not as great as Potter, but still impressive for a child."

"Well, here's the rundown. Harry's uncle decided it would be a brilliant idea to beat the magic out of him, Petunia couldn't stop him, Harry ran away from the residence three years ago, and Dudley is not on the list of Hogwarts students."

Alastor's non-magic eye widened in shock. "And Albus knew?"

"Except for the running away. That was just learned today when Harry's letter didn't address itself and Albus sent Severus. After hearing the story, Severus gave his resignation to Albus."

"Why send the Death Eater?" Alastor asked, suspicious.

"Because Severus loved Lily Evans and vowed to protect Harry as well as possible. Severus couldn't stay around Albus after what he did to Harry. It's still a tad hard to believe. Why would Albus do something like that?"

There was silence as both members of the table contemplated the answer. "Well," Alastor began, "Whoever has Potter has a lot of political and financial power. When we finally find him, it wouldn't be surprising to find out he has a lot of magical power as well."

"An asset to anyone and everyone who can claim him," Minerva remarked. "Do you really think Albus tried to gain control over a little boy?"

"I want to meet these Dursley's face to face and find what spells are on them."

"The good thing that they're spells and can't be potions except maybe on Harry."

"Why not?"

Minerva snickered. "Albus may be an all powerful manipulative old coot, but he can't make a potion to save his life. That's part of why he kept Severus so close."

"That is good. We don't want to cause wide-spread panic through the Wizarding World about their missing savior."

"Oh something else Albus said that bothers me. His absolute certainty that Petunia hated her nephew and sister because of all their magic worries me. I remember when I went to introduce Lily to the Wizarding World, Petunia was just as excited and claimed that even though she couldn't do wand magic, she would do the other branches."

"What is Snape going to be doing?" Alastor asked curiously.

"Well, first event is to find Harry. Severus has a picture from three years ago manipulated for what he looks like now. He also has something of Harry's to use for a locator charm since ones using his name fail."

"Then doesn't that mean he's dead?"

"Not necessarily. If someone changes the name, the locator charm won't work since magic takes what a person considers their name to be."

Alastor considered this. "Okay, I'll let Snape look for Potter. Do you want to come with me when I go see the Dursley's?"

"And see that walrus get what's coming to him? Of course," Minerva answered.

"Let me contact Kingsley to help. Come with me." And Minerva followed Alastor out of the Three Broomsticks to the Ministry...


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the delay. I've not only had a rough semister, but I lost the notes I made for this story for a couple weeks. Right before I left, I found them, but accidentally left them in my dorm room. Now that I have them, I'll update sooner. Oh, and because the only people who gave me an opinion said they didn't want slash, there won't be slash in this story. I may make a story close to this one with slash, but we'll see. Enjoy!**

**_Chapter Four_**

Severus was just leaving Diagon Alley's Apparation point when he heard his name called. Turning, he saw his closest friend, Lucius Malfoy.

"What are you doing here, my friend? Most of the time I have to wrestle you out of your dungeons for some sunlight every few months," Lucius asked.

"I need to buy a new house. Dumbledore has manipulated me for the last time. Never again. I resigned this morning."

Lucius was shocked. He knew Severus was a spy for Dumbledore but never thought Sev would stop considering what happened to the person he loved.

"What happened? What did the fool do this time?"

"He lied to my face about Lily's son. Now I get to go on a hunt through muggle London for an abused eleven year old who has lived on the streets since he was eight."

Lucius blinked. Lily's son? That's... "He lied about Harry Potter?!"

"No, Harry Potter no longer exists. He's run away from his abusive relatives and changed his name." Severus snorted. "I'm the lucky one in charge of finding a street kid."

Lucius paused before asking, "What are you going to do for his schooling? Surely you won't send him to Hogwarts. Back under Dumbledore's thumb?"

"Certainly not. I'm going to buy a new house, find Harry, and teach him myself."

Lucius walked with Severus towards "Relator's Palace" thinking. "What about brining the boy to another school?"

"Well, he can't attend Durmstrang. He isn't pureblood. And I find Beauxbatons to be much to...prissy," Severus replied.

"Why not an American school? Maybe I'll send Draco there as well," Lucius stated, not wanting his only son to be under Dumbledore's watch without anyone to protect him from manipulations.

Severus stopped, thinking. "I think my mom had originally wanted to send me to Salem Acadamy of Magic, but my father refused to pay the price to send me over there or move."

"It's settles then. Good thing Narcissa and I hadn't sent a reply yet. I'll contact the Headmaster of Salem. I think I heard it's a man named Aaron Cooke."

"All right. So I'll get things prepared for the trip, get an apartment, and find Harry. All in one month," Severus said, ending with a sigh.

"Don't worry about an apartment. Just come live with us until you find Harry. We'll be looking for a house in America. Are you going to get an apartment there?" Lucius asked curiously.

"No, I might get a small house away from anybody. After a few years on the streets, it may be nice for Harry to have some peace for a change."

As they started walking to the bookstore where Draco and Narcissa were looking at books Draco would have needed, Lucius thought of another question. "Why couldn't the quill find him?"

"The quill only does the letters based on name. If Draco decided his name was no longer "Draco Malfoy' but instead 'Reginald Ford,' the quill would have to be told the second name, not the first. Harry probably changed his name, considering the nasty past with that fat bastard masquerading as his uncle."

"Well, I'll tell Draco his favorite godparent is coming to stay for a little while. Happy hunting," Lucius said, snickering as he walked away.

"Thanks for the help, Luc," Severus said, somewhat amused. 'Can't get his hands dirty searching for something. Oh, well. At least I have a base of operations.'

Walking out of Diagon Alley, he had to wonder how far away Harry really was.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Harry Potter, or as he was now going by, Emrys Evans, was quite close to Diagon Alley's entrance. Only about a mile away, running with three other kids with their spoils of the day as a matter of fact. Chin length hair was no longer uncontrollabe, but falling in tameable curls. Jet black hair was now a dark brown, random strands of red peeking through. One thing about his appearnce hadn't changed, though. The large, emerald green eyes were no longer haunted, but they were no less captivating.

Emrys' slim figure moved through the shadows of the building like he was part of them, quickly outstripping his fellow street kids. Not paying attention, Emrys failed to notice the police officer at the end of the street until it was too late.

"Oomph!" Emrys grunted, slamming into the person. He instantly started struggling but could not break loose from the officer's grip.

"Keep a hold on this one. We've been looking to grab this one for a while," the officer walking towards the two said to the officer holding Emrys.

"He won't be getting away. He's a pretty one, that's for sure."

"Good breeding. What happened to him?"

The entire time, Emrys was struggling, telling them to "Let go, you bloody brutes" until they mentioned his looks. Questioning his background, for sure, but also triggering his memory of his last day in Surrey. With Vernon. Thank Merlin Aunt Petunia came when she did, or part of his remaining innocence would be gone.

"Well, come on, Bolt. We need to ask you some questions. Then, we need to figure out what to do with you. Foster homes, or juvie. It will be pretty much be you choice."

And Emrys was lead further from the Alley, thinking, 'Can my magic help me out of this?'


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, sorry. I planned on updating about a week ago, but I've been having problems with my computer and using a land connection. Sadly, my dorm room doesn't have wireless. But, now I'm being a refugee at my roommate's boyfriend's campus as there was an ice storm and my entire campus lost power at about 12:30 am, so about 12 hours ago. And it's terrible living in a campus center with at least 800 other people. So, we left. Anyways, enjoy the new chapter!**

Unknown to the Wizarding World, Emrys knew all about what they supposed happened Halloween '81. Emrys had also found his bank account and bought Wizarding books that talked about all different types of magics. History, Wandless, Wand, 'Light', 'Dark', his library had all of them. And they all fit in a trunk he bought that had seven compartments that shrunk to look like a regular box of matches to any non-magic folk.

So Emrys practiced wandless magic for an hour everyday with some extra reading of the wanded magics before sleeping each night. So technically speaking, he could easily bust himself from the jam he was in, only something was telling him to go with these...kind officers. Honestly, do they need to shove him that hard? It's not like he didn't look or was bigger then the average nine year old. Woooo...scary.

Moving the way he was so rudely pushed, Emrys found himself facing the door to Scotland Yard. Emrys blinked in confusion before facing the officers. "Sirs, I'm fairly certain that a few thefts do not need to be taken to the yard. Why not the one for underage people like myself?" he asked.

The larger officer snorted. "You're here because you're here as an accessory to a murder that took place five years ago."

"Wait. I wasn't even on the streets five years ago. And, what murder?"

The smaller snorted as well. "Don't act innocent. We know that even though you look like a child, you're really fifteen."

Emrys rose a thin eyebrow in an 'Are you really THAT dumb' expression before answering, "Ok, bring me to a semi-comfortable room and I'll answer any questions besides my real name and where I came from."

"No funny business?" one asked in disbelief.

"None. Now, can we get this over with? And, can I choose somebody to be here with me?"

"You have to choose a legal counsel as you are a minor."

"Goodie. Give me a list and I'll choose."

The two officers, somewhat put off by Emrys' actions and attitude, led the boy to an interrogation room with a list.

There were about thirty five people total on the list. The list was divided by gender. Something was telling Emrys to stay with the 'male' list. Looking down, he stayed contemplative until he came across three names:

Albus Dumbledore-counsel, Headmaster Hogwarts for the Gifted

Alastor Moody-investigator, counsel

Severus Snape-counsel, Chemistry master

Emrys started laughing. He laughed until his ribs hurt. Why one Earth? It was crazy! It was...wait, Snape was the youngest Potions Master of the age. One of the people in the Wizarding World he wanted to meet.

The officers came in a few minutes later for his choice. They were puzzled about the random chuckle from the boy, but the larger (we'll call him Tom) asked, "Have you chosen yet?"

Emrys decided to go with it even though it wasn't exactly how he wanted to meet one of his idols. "I'll talk to Severus Snape."

The smaller officer (now Jerry) sighed. "Sit back and relax, Bolt. He may be a few hours."

"Why do you keep calling me such a ridiculous name such as 'Bolt' anyway? Call me 'Green-eyes' if anything. This is scar is the cause of all my problems. I hate it."

Tom and Jerry rolled their eyes. Teenagers! One second, something is cool. Another second and it's painful to talk about.

Emrys' eyes narrowed as he watched the two guards walk away. 'I hope they call him soon,' he thought, anxious to get out of the station.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Severus was close. He could feel it. It was astonishing how short the length of time it took to find the boy's trail.

When exiting Diagon Alley, he walked for about twenty minutes towards a rougher part of London before hearing a bunch of commotion. Following the noise, he saw five street kids run in one direction while the sixth got caught. With the officers gone, the kids came back. 'Now, maybe someone will recognize Harry's picture.'

Walking to the the kids, he heard them complain about "those bloody pigs."

"But, they could never catch us, right Emrys?" the smallest, a girl about eight, asked. There was no answer.

"Em?" she asked, looking around. Not finding anything, she said, voice shaking, "Okay, Em. It's not funny anymore. You can come out."

"He would be the one the officers caught, I presume?" Severus asked, coming out of the shadows.

All five kids tensed, getting ready to run. "Don't worry. I'm not trying to take any of you. I'm looking for a boy..."

"Well, keep looking. None of us are interested. Come on, you know the rules. Those who are taken get left behind," the oldest, who looked sixteen, said.

The other three followed, but the youngest stayed behind, watching Severus. "Taryn! Let's go!" the other girl in the group commanded.

Taryn watched Severus for another moment before answering, "No. I feel I'm no longer needed here. I'll help this man."

Severus' eyes widened. The girl was about four feet with an elfin face. No one could be that trusting. Unless...

There! In the clear, bluish-green gaze, a cloud moved across her eyes. A witch. Even better, a Seer.

The other children sighed. "Fine Taryn. Have a nice life." And they left without another word.

Taryn and Severus eyed each other for several minutes before Taryn asked, "Who is the boy you were looking for?"

Severus looked around. This wasn't the best place for conversation, in the open with many kids and adults sneaking around looking for money and food. "Let's go get something to eat. Then, I will tell you about Harry Potter."

"Can you help Emrys?"

"I can try."

And the two set off to locate a restaurant to eat at.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the delay. If you really care about the cause, go look at my profile page and that will give you some of it. The other part is that I needed (and still need, mind) to fine tune some notes before I can move further. So I'll post maybe one more chapter before I can't go further without finishing some of my notes I think. The next chapter is done, though. Enjoy!**

Quickly finding a place that served outside, Taryn asked, after ordering, "Now, who are you looking for?"

"His name is originally Harry Potter. He was supposed to come to the school I taught at, but no one can find him since he ran from his Aunt's house three years ago. How long have you lived on the streets?"

"For five years. What does he look like?" Taryn asked, having a feeling that she knew who it was.

Taking the picture from his pocket, Severus showed her. Taryn studied it, looking for the similarities between Harry Potter and the boy Emrys Evans she knew. Finding them, she smiled and said, "I do know him. You've seen him as well."

As Severus started to ask what she was talking about, his charmed cell phone rang. It was so wizarding children in trouble with the law would be able to contact him for help.

"Damn thing...hate this thing...why Albus insisted...all the Potions this thing ruined...now, a conversation that could lead me to Harry..." he muttered, looking for the infernal contratption.

Finding it and turning it on, he answered, "Snape."

"Hello Professor Snape. We have another kid down here asking for your representaion. When you get a few hours, can you come down to Scotland Yard.""

"I suppose. Be there in thirty minutes." And Severus hung up.

"Now I have to rescue some infernal brat when I'm looking for another infernal brat. What did he do so major he needs to be at the Yard for questioning?" Severus complained.

"You will want to help this brat," Taryn said.

Severus turned to look at her closely. Her eyes were swirling. "Why?"

"Because. My 'older brother', Emrys Evans, is your Harry Potter. And Em is the one down at the Yard."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Back With Emrys...

Emrys was doubting his decision now. It was highly likely someone like Severus Snape would be to busy to come help out a street rat. Tom and Jerry were outside the room talking to a man he guessed was the investigator. Twiddeling his thumbs (and wishing he could take out one of his books) he felt two magical presences. One was the familiar, timeless feel Taryn had while the other was balanced feeling with a scattered feel of plants and minerals...something he felt in the Apothecary...something he associated with Potions...Snape!

Feeling interested, Emrys sat upright and waited. He didn't have to wait long.

Two new people walked into the room. One was a tall man with black hair and just as black eyes. Emrys identified him as Professor Snape. The other was a man with brown hair and brown eyes.

"Now, to get this started, my name is Donovan Blake. This is Severus Snape, the man you asked to be you counsel. Can you tell us your name...your real name?" the brown haired man asked.

Emrys shook his head. "No. I won't tell you my real name but the name I adopted three years ago when I ran away was Emrys Evans."

"Why that name?"

"Emrys was close to Emerald, which I think was a nickname for me a long time ago. Someone at the bus stop also made a comment about my eyes looking like emeralds the night I ran away. Evans was my mum's last name. I was not going to go back to my relatives. If this is about the thefts I participated in, I can pay them back. I just didn't want anyone getting suspicious of me."

"What do you mean, anybody getting suspicious of you?" Donovan asked.

"If a street kid were to have everything new, don't you think the other street kids or the police wouldn't be suspicious?" Severus asked, snidely. "May I ask Emrys a question, Donovan?"

"Go ahead."

Emrys eyed Severus suspiciously. Ignoring the look, Severus asked, "Were your original initials 'HJP'?"

Emrys' breath stopped. "How...? I am NOT going back to that place."

"Wasn't planning on bringing you back. But, we'll talk about that later. Now, what is Evans charged with?" Severus asked Donovan.

Donovan looked between the two. Emrys was really pale while Severus had a satisfied look on his face. "I would like to know, but I know this must be some Wizardry thing. Now, he's being accused of helping to kill an officer of the Yard five years ago."

Emrys sighed. "That would be impossible as five years ago I was six and had never been to London before that I could remember. I tended to avoid officers then almost more then I do now."

"Why?" both men asked. Severus wanted to know why the child would be afraid to go to a source of authority to report his uncle. Donovan just wanted to know something about what was going on.

"My uncle, may he die and rot in Hell for all eternity, told me that what he did wasn't wrong, that it was necessary to stamp out the 'freakishness' and that they would arrest me instead. He also said that even if they took me away, I would just be sent back to them."

Severus felt a sinking feeling. "Evans, have you ever met this man?" He took out a picture of Albus.

Emrys snorted. "Of course. He introduced himself as Grandpa Albie. His hair and beard were shorter, but that's him. Wait...isn't that Albus Dumbledore?"

"I think it's said to say Mr Evans did not participate in the murder of Janey O'Meary. Is there anyone in you world following up on his childhood?" Donovan asked.

"Yes. A collegue and Moody will be checking things out. His Aunt was also threatened by his Uncle as well as some sort of manipulation. His cousin has so many spells on his no one probably knows his true personality. I know the Uncle has no spells on his because all the spells in the house centered on the Aunt and cousin, who, as Emrys doesn't know, is also magical."

As Donovan and Severus debated on release terms (as Emrys had stolen many items), Emrys sat in shock. He knew Petunia cared about him as she gave him food when Vernon wasn't looking and gave him some praise, but Dudley? Magical? That was a surprise.

Finally, Donovan sighed and looked at Emrys. "All right, here's what's going to happen. You will pay, according to Severus' calculations, fifty galleons, thirteen sickles, and ten knuts as well as Severus taking over your guardianship. He has asked to borrow this room for the next hour with no recording equipment to allow you two to talk. I will leave you now..."

"Can you send in the little girl with brown hair?" Severus asked.

"Taryn?" Emrys asked, surprised.

"Yes. May I assume your magic claimed her as a little sister?"

"That would be a safe assumption."

"Then it's good hers recognizes you as an older brother. Here she is."

Taryn walked in and upon seeing Emrys, launched herself at him. The hit him in the head. "Don't ever get taken away like that again," she scolded.

"Don't plan on it. It's nice to meet you, Potions Master Snape," Emrys said, using Severus' full title.

"Just call me Severus. Now, would you like to hear the trouble your disappearance has caused?" Severus asked.

"Sure. Then you can tell us your plan. Just make sure to include Taryn in your plans."

"All right. Now, you were to go to Hogwarts, probably as a meek little boy who would look up to Albus Dumbledore as a grandfather and rescuer. This morning, my colleague, Minerva McGonagall, was unable to address your letter. This was because of your name change. Since Harry Potter was no longer a name used, a letter was unable to be made by the quill since you wanted to separate yourself from your past so much. Albus sent me to your house. I was less then pleased because Albus had been talking about how much you looked like your father and how good a life you had. Talking to 'Tunia changed my opinion quickly and I gave Albus my letter of resignation after packing my things. I had made an Unbreakable Vow with your mother, who was my best friend, to look out for you and keep you balanced and...happy. If I had stayed at the school with the knowledge your Aunt gave me, my life would be forfit. Leaving the old coot, I went to talk to Minerva, told her what happened, ad made a plan with her. As we speak, she's with the Head of Aurors, Moody, to get things straightened out. The original plan was for me to find an apartment until I could find you, then buy a house and home school you. The plans have since changed. All set so far?" (A/N: And there is my longest paragraph so far...)

Emrys looked into Severus' eyes. Nodding, he looked in his lap at Taryn. She was asleep, but he knew she already liked Severus. After all, she followed the man here to get him and was sleeping in front of him. "What's the plan now?"

"I ran into my friend Lucius Malfoy when walking to the relators. After hearing what Albus did to you, he decided he was not going to allow his son to go to Hogwarts as originally planned. He offered to allow me to use his house and said he would make plans for you and Draco to go to a school in America. Schools generally start in September, so we though we had less then a month to find you before school started. We never imagined we would find you so soon," Severus finished, waiting for Emrys' reaction.

Emrys thought for a moment, then stared Severus in the eye. "And Taryn could come with us."

"Yes."

"You won't make me go to the Dursley's?"

"Your Aunt would like to see you, but no, you don't have to go to the Dursley's."

"Who do I look like more?"

"Lily."

"Okay, we will come with you. You seem trustworthy from what I've read and Taryn seems to like you, so there shouldn't be a problem. Now what?"

"You've been to Diagon Ally. Have you gotten your wand?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Alright, I want to apologize for taking so long with this chapter. The past 9 months have been crazy what with moving from college to living with my dad for the first time in over 8 years, three visits from my brother with whom I had to be social with, my dad having two nasty breakups with his girlfriend resulting in the last one being a permanent breakage, classes, homework, trips to places lacking internet (and in my mom's case, lacking proper electricity), and the notorious job hunt everyone else is having problems with (unless you already had a job before the economy sunk in which case, feel lucky).**

**This doesn't seem like much, but there are three major problems I faced with my writing these past 9 months and the first one is a block for writing: my muse left me. I had no idea where I was going in either story. That's all sorted out now and shouldn't happen again for a while. The other problems are a lot more serious.  
Back in the beginning of May, my dad and I had to take our dog, Alex, who we have had for over 12 years, to the emergency vets. The next day we found that her heart murmur had gotten worse and had broken part of the wall of her heart and that they could extend her life for another 2-3 months, but that she wouldn't act the same. She would not be active. So we came to the hard decision to have her put down. My dad, his ex-girlfriends oldest daughter who lives with us, and I were there as they did it.  
The really rough bump(read crater) in this road we call life that my dad and I hit was my grandfather who, to our knowledge, was perfectly healthy except for high cholesterol, passed away due to a massive heart attack. It was completely unexpected as we have all been expecting one of my great grandparents to pass on or my grandmother but the one who was the most active was the first to go.**

**So, that's what's been going on in my life. Another problem I had with this story was with the next chapter. I had a hard time with deciding what I wanted. I have a basic idea with where I want to go with this story. It shouldn't be more then 35 chapters. There will be a time jump of six years in the next 5-10 chapters. Sorry if that bothers people, but I don't want to take the next 5 years talking about Harry/Emrys' daily life and every word he said to so and so. It will annoy me and will lead to me abandoning the story. If, after I do the time jump (which, between the two chapters, will have my narrating what happens) someone wants to write a oneshot on what happens, be my guest. Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

While Severus was meeting the street kids and Emrys was seeing the justice system from the inside, Minerva and Moody were collecting Kingsley to go to the Dursley's.

"Now remember to stun the husband. He's a big man and could cause a lot of damage," Moody warned.

"Not to mention his annoying voice. Fingernails on a chalkboard with that one," Minerva commented absently.

Walking up to Privet Dr, they could hear yelling at number 4. They couldn't hear the words, but could tell it was bad.

"Okay, on the count of three, Minerva will stun the walrus while we break open the door. One...two...three!" Moody barked out.

The door flew open and seeing Vernon Dursley standing right there, Minerva quickly stunned him while Kingsley put up a privacy bubble over the residence.

"Who's that...what do you want?" Petunia asked frantically, moving slowly towards the vase in the hallway.

"Peace, Mrs Dursley. I was one of Lily's teachers at school. The two men with me are Alastor Moody, Head of the Aurors, and Kingsley Shaklebolt, his right-hand man. I am Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts...and Harry's godmother."

Moody and Kingsley looked at Minerva in surprise while Petunia gave a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. Where's Severus?"

"He's out looking for your nephew. Now, Severus mentioned seeing spells on your son?" Minerva answered.

"Oh...oh, yes. Go sit in the living room and I'll go get him," Petunia said, going up the stairs. "Dudley, can you come with me, please?"

"But mum, I'm almost at the end of my game," Dudley whined.

"Pause it. It's very important."

Dudley huffed before doing what his mother told him. Walking downstairs, Dudley noticed his father on the floor. "What's dad doing on the floor?"

"Taking a nap. Come, there are people I want you to meet."

Following his mother into the living room, Dudley was surprised at the appearance of the three people in the room. None of them were dressed normally, something that his father would throw a fit over and their presence seemed to cause a tingling feeling to spread through his body as well as a weird sense of loss he associated with feeling around his cousin.

"Mom, what's going on?" Dudley asked.

"Is Vernon going to wake anytime soon?" Petunia asked. When she received three headshakes, she continued, "Do you believe in magic, Dudley?"

"Yes."

The simple answer confused Petunia. "What? Why?" She had assumed she would have to explain why magic was real to her son as her husband always declared that there was no such thing as magic at least once a day.

"Because I remember weird things happening around Harry when he was here and dad demanding that there was no such things as magic whenever Harry tried to say 'It was like magic'. Why? What's going on? Why won't dad wake up?" Dudley asked quickly.

"Dudley, the reason why your Aunt Lily isn't mentioned often and why Vernon treated Harry like he did was because they were magical. They could cast spells. You know that Harry's parents were dead, but they didn't die in a car crash as Vernon insisted every time someone asked and they weren't useless drunks. Lily and James died to say Harry and caused one of the darkest wizards in history to die-"

"Disappear," Minerva and Moody interrupted.

"Disappear. Now I do not approve of how your father treated my nephew, but I didn't have a choice other then to accept it. First I had spells put on me that forced me to ignore Harry, but those eventually broke when I caught your father...whipping Harry." She was interrupted by a growl from Minerva, but continued, "Then he threatened me by telling me that if I told anyone about what was happening, he would take bother of you and rid the world of Harry. The man you met earlier is named Severus Snape and he used to be my neighbor when we were kids-"

"Neighbor?!" the three adults asked, shocked.

Petunia turned to them, irritated. "Will you stop irritating me? Yes, Severus was our neighbor." Turning to Dudley, she continued, "He was looking for Harry because he was supposed to receive a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but he probably changed his name so nothing appeared. Sev also said there were some spells placed on you. I suppose he called in reinforcements."

"Yes. He knew I would be on his side. I am, after all, Harry's godmother," Minerva answered.

"Why did you not come check on him while he was living here?" Petunia asked.

"Whenever I tried to come, I would suddenly remember something really important that I had to do. Eventually I figured out that Albus had put wards up that wouldn't allow anyone but Harry and anybody Dumbledore approved of to get within ten miles of this block."

"He obviously placed somebody here. Who would he have placed here to keep an eye and make sure Harry was still living?" Moody asked.

"A squib. Probably a Figg, the family owes him a debt for saving them many years ago," Minerva answered.

Petunia looked shocked. "There was an Arabella Figg a few houses down. She used to watch Harry when we went out. About three years ago, right before Harry ran away, she was put into a nursing home because she had Alzheimer's and couldn't be trusted to take care of herself anymore."

The other three adults looked disapproving. "Did you really leave your nephew out of family events?" Kingsley asked.

"It was either that or put him under Vernon's watch even more. Sending him to Mrs. Figg killed two bees with one swat. Vernon was happy Harry wasn't around and Harry was away from Vernon's watchful gaze," Petunia explained. "Not that it helped matters. That old fool used to come...introduced himself as Harry's grandfather...so Vernon got more spiteful because he believed that Harry had other family but they wouldn't take him."

"What did he introduce himself as?" Minerva asked with a sinking feeling.

Dudley answered, "He wanted us to call him Grandpa Albie."

Minerva was furious, Kingsley was shocked, and Alastor was amazed at how far his friend went.

"All because Albus wanted more power...did he ever give you anything where after you felt funny? Like something was missing?" Moody asked, the other two unable to speak due to anger.

Dudley thought for a moment, then nodded. "He gave me a book that he told me to write in once a month and a special pen to go with it. It wrote in red ink."

Moody nodded. "I thought so. Can you get me both objects?"

Minerva waited until Dudley was upstairs before exploding. "Was that a blood quill he was talking about?" she asked furiously.

Petunia was watching carefully as Alastor answered. "No. It wasn't a blood quill. It was a magic catcher."

"A what?!" everyone else exclaimed.

"A magic catcher. It's an illegal, rare item tuned to a person's magic that will write in their magic. The person using the object will feel weak, irritable, and generally a monster to anyone with magic. I'm surprised he's taking us being here so calmly," Moody answered contemplatively while the others paled.

"I think my body knows you're going to fix whatever's wrong. Can you tell me, is that why I was so horrible to Harry?" Dudley asked.

"Yes, that's why. Can I have the book and pen for a moment?" Moody asked.

Dudley silently handed the objects over to Alastor.

Moody looked over the objects, then eyed Dudley. "At the level of magic this has taken, to fix this is going to be painful. There's a lot of pent up magic in here. You'll probably lose weight quickly and you'll be exceedingly kind for," he eyed the book, measuring the force inside, "At least a year. You should be the kindest person for the year and your magic will probably make you exceedingly cheerful for a long time. If you went to a muggle school, you would be diagnosed with ADHD and taken from the room."

Dudley gulped and looked at his mother who nodded. "You're not going to get anywhere the way you're acting now," she answered his unasked question.

Dudley nodded and turned to Alastor. "Go ahead. I want to see how I really am."

"Should we get Madam Pomfrey here?" Minerva asked, worried.

"No, he'll be fine. Tired for a few days and achy, but otherwise fine. Patefacio vox(1)." Alastor said, pointing his wand at the book.

A large mass of red, sparkling mist rose from the "diary" then launched itself into Dudley with a bright flash of red, temporarily blinding everyone.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

(1) Patefacio vox means "open power" according to an online English to Latin dictionary I found. If I'm wrong, sorry, but I'm not a Latin student.


End file.
